On the heels of Pete Favat’s departure from his longstanding role as chief creative officer of Arnold Boston, the agency has named Wade Devers and Pete Johnson, executive creative directors, as creative lead partners for its Boston operations. (Favat has taken the CCO reins at Deutsch LA.)
Johnson, formerly senior VP, group creative director, has been elevated to executive creative director and Devers has served as executive creative director since February. Both will report to Pam Hamlin, president, Arnold Worldwide in Boston.
Devers, having joined the agency in 1999, has been responsible some of the shop’s most iconic brands. His role as global creative director on the Jack Daniel’s family of brands has led to successes such as the launch of Jack Daniels’ Tennessee Honey.
Johnson, since joining the agency in 2012, has driven a deeper collaborative partnership of creative and digital to drive large-scale conceptual campaigns rooted in technology.
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More